mars_nextstep_010906STANFORD, Calif. A human journey to the Martian wilderness is moving toward reality thanks to simulated practice runs at Mars analog sites here on Earth. A shakeout of tools, equipment and people skills needed to live and work on the Red Planet is under way at Devon Island in Northern Canada - all ingredients that could spur the building of hardware and an esprit-de-corps for colonizing the Red Planet.
Situated near the Arctic Circle, the remote, crater scarred and desolate island is a partial lookalike to Mars. Devon Island is barren but welcome territory for a "Mars force" of scientists, engineers, technologists, entrepreneurs, and a growing clique of ready-to-travel advocates.
Recently Devon Island devotees shared their exploits at the Mars Societys fourth international convention held here between August 23-26. Through July into the start of August, teams took up residence in the groups Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island. These individuals provided a unique window into exploring the red planet in future years, said Robert Zubrin, President of the Mars Society.
"We have just completed the first, essentially entirely successful field operation of a Mars arctic station. After 20 years of people talking about itwe finally did it," Zubrin said.
Year-round program
"Over the nearly 7 weeks, we learned about many things, ranging from the nature of crew interactions, to the comparative strengths of scientists and engineers as crew members. Also, we now have a better understanding of the proper use of robots by a human crew, as well as water requirements of a humans-to-Mars mission. In addition, we gained a clearer perspective about the nature of time on a Mars mission," Zubrin told SPACE.com.
"Prior to our Devon Island experiences, I had a complete misconception about the nature of time in a Mars station. Your time is always filled up. We had to actually make an effort to carve out communal, leisure time," Zubrin said.
Zubrin announced to the Stanford University gathering that the Mars Society is ready to deploy a second Mars Habitat. Installation of the unit would yield a near year-round program of Mars analog research.
The new facility is a desert station to be sited in Utah, on public land west of Hanksville. This Mars base should be up and operating by mid-November. "Were going to do more work than weve done in the Arctic," Zubrin said, including use of a pressurized rover, and possibly building a Mars greenhouse.
Your move
"I feel that beyond learning how we will live and work on Mars, the experience of Devon Island shows us how to run complicated simulations," said Pascal Lee, project lead for the NASA/SETI Institute Houghton Mars Project on Devon Island. He also serves as project scientist for the Mars Societys research base there.
Lee said a big lesson learned is how future Mars walks of astronauts can monopolize the time of all crewmembers. Picking the right tools and equipment. Planning the extravehicular activity outside the Mars Habitat. Reviewing safety procedures. These steps soak up huge amounts of time, he said.
"All the chess playing exercise that goes along with planning your next move is a big time sink," Lee said.
If you are on the red planet for a terrestrial year, Lee said, the time necessary to plot out productive in-the-field scientific investigations might allow 20 extensive Mars walks.
"Those are the dangerous ones because they take you far out, away from the Hab," he said. There will always be need for more routine, but short outside excursions, to fix the Hab, repair crew-carrying rovers, or adjust antennas.
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